Slat for venetian blinds



p 1936- M. w. HOWARD SLAT FOR VENETIAN BLINDS Filed March 14, 1935 amen 1M Mflv/n W H0 Ward Patented Sept. 1, 1936 PATENT OFFICE sm'r roe vENE'rIAN ems MelvinW. Howard, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to Solon 0. Richardson, m, Perrysburg, (Dhio Application March 1%, 1935, Serial No. lldltt 1 ill. (ill. 156-417) This invention relates to Venetian blinds, and is more particularly directed to the slat portion of such blinds.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of an inexpensive, easily replaceable slat tor a Venetian blind which may be formed of paper board or other fibrous substance and which, when in use, imparts novel and decorative eflects to the blind.

w Another object of the invention is the provislon oi as slat for a Venetian blind which permits a maximum ventilating opening and at the same time decreases the direct transmission of light the blind.

Another object of the invention is the provision oi slat of this character which is adapted to nest closely against adjacent slats when the blind is closed position to more completely prevent the transmission of light.

2Q Uther objects and advantages oi the inven tion will become apparent as the description pro coeds, reference being had to the accompanying drawing in which- Figure l is an elevation of a blind having slate formed in accordance with the present invention; t? is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. i; Fig. 3 is an nlarged iragmentaw sectional view of the at n another position; Fig. i is a view with the oil closed position, and Fig. is a iragrnem m perspective view of a slat termed in accordance with the present invention.

Ii-teierring to the drawing, the present invention is shown in connection with a window having a frame 8 defining the window opening. The window sash and glass are omitted in the interests of clarity since the present invention is not concerned with these parts. On the inside of the window frame suitable hanging fixtures t are provided to support the blind and retain it in any desired position. A header strip 5 ispivotally mounted at its ends on pins 8 to each of the hanging fixtures and is adapted to be controlled in its position by a cord Q adjacent one end which 45 is looped about the header strip and trained through a suitable pulley ll conveniently fixed to the top of the window frame l "ll 1e blind itself comprises spaced inner and outer tapes it and it. The tapes are preferably 5 fixed to the header strip 5 and depend therefrom to points adjacent the bottom of the window opening where they receive a bottom strip it. Obviously, the munber of tapes used in making up a blind will depend entirelyon the width. of the 5g window opening, as the, tapes must be so spaced as to afiord the proper support for the slats in a manner hereinafter described.

A plurality of slat supporting webs ii are provided at intervals to span the distance between the inner and outer tapes of a pair and are preferably woven into the material from which the tapes are made.

The present invention is particularly concerned with the slats tobe used in the blind. As shown in Fig. 5, the slat is composed oi a body portion 19 it having an integral downturned supporting flange 2d at one edge, disposed in a plane sub stantially normal to the plane of the body por tion it. The slat is preferably made of paper board or other inexpensive material and can obviously be decorated in any desired color or pattern. inasmuch as paper board is preferably used. in this clot, the supporting iiange it must be disposed at an angle with relation to the body oi the slot suficiently great to prevent sagging oi the slat when in use, and to support the body portion in an even horizon plane. in use the slats are inserted between e inner and outer tapes it and id and are allowed to rest loosely on the Webs ll so that they are superposed in amanner similar to the conventional Venetian blind. lhe dovmtuined supporting flanges it are faced outwardly the Window opening and act as miniature, individual awnings for the area between the bodyportion or each pair of slots. When the slats are rotated to a position such that the body portion is lower on the outside of the blind than on the inside, this sheet is particularly noticeable since the downturned flange ill is then in a position to interrupt the direct rays of the sun. At the same time the blind is not turned to such an extent that the ventilation is materially decreased by reason of an appreciable restriction of the available air passage between the slats. It 40 is also found in use that the flanges it direct the light rays in such a manner as to cause a shading of the light on the underside of each slat and thus produce novel and distinctive lighting efiects.

The slat shaped in accordance with the present invention also lends itself to a complete closure of the window opening as is apparent in Fig. i. As there shown, the homer strip 5 is turned so that the upper outer edge of each slot is subm stantially in contact with the lower inner edge of the slat disposed immediately above it. It will be seen that the degree of rotation necessary to be imparted to the header strip ii to accomplish this complete closing is considerably less than to with straight slats due to the offset produced by the downward flanges 20. Inasmuch as the header strip 5 is turned by the conventional pulley and cord 9, this feature becomes important since the cord 9 is not well adapted to a complete-turning of the header strip, and the limit of its motion is approximately that shown in Fig. 4.

Obviously, the slats may be easily replaced since they are disposed loosely on the webs l1. Since they are preferably made of paper board, fibrous, plastic or similar inexpensive material, the cost involved in changing the entire decorative efiect of the window opening is relatively slight.

While the invention has been described in connection with a particular type of operating mechanism, it will be appreciated that numerous changes may be made in the form and disposition of the parts without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claim.

What I claim is: I

In a Venetian blind having vertically spaced slat supporting webs, a slat comprising a body having an integral downturned supporting flange at one end disposed in a plane substantially normal to the plane of the major part of said body, said slat being supported by the edge of said flange and by the opposite edge of said body, whereby the flange imparts stifiness to the slat to prevent sagging thereof.

MELVIN W. HOWARD. 

